Guruvayur - Punathoor Elephant Fort 1

I arrived in Guruvayur late yesterday afternoon.
This city is located in Kerala State which is renowned for its elephants. For centuries, all Kerala residents had at least 1 & often more elephants which they revere for their "work ethic", ability to bring good luck/fortune to their owners & their integral symbolism in the Hindu religion. Because of costs & "mechanization" (aka tractors), few families now own elephants.. But there are still 100+ elephants here (most owned/cared for by individual Hindu temples) & the city is still famous for its annual "Elephant Festival" - attracting thousands of visitors from all over the world.
One of this city's famous sights is the Punathoor Elephant Fort - built over 500 years ago to feed & provide herbal medical treatments to Kerala Hindu Temple elephants. The "fort" is huge & on any given day there are 60+ elephants here for feeding, bathing & medical diagnoses/treatments. They are scattered (to avoid "male-to-male conflicts") over a 25+ acre area. Above are pics of various areas of the park.

Guruvayur - Punathoor Elephant Fort 2 & Communism

Top pic is of the largest tusker I saw at the "fort". He was isolated from all other elephants because he was in "musk". Yes - that is a pile of 4-5 days worth of feces in background.
Center pic is of a mahout giving his elephant a "palm thrashing (whipping)massage". She really appeared to enjoy it!
Btw - Kerala is 1 of only 2 communist states in India - bottom pic was a reminder of this <-- I thought that I had left the hammer/sickle in Vietnam!? This state is also known for the active, well-armed "Maoist guerrillas" who operate & are located primarily in the rural jungle areas. My driver, Mohan, has assured me that we have avoided & will continue to avoid these areas.

Ancient Hindu Temples

I have seen many new as well as very ancient Hindu temples. None allow pics to be taken inside,
The Kesava Temple above is one of the oldest & best preserved/restored temples I've seen. Built in 1269, it is constructed of an intricately carved "soft" granite <- pretty amazing when one remembers the limited tools that existed at the time! It is surrounded by a series of small "cells" that once contained shrines (statues) of lesser Hindu gods.